July Washington Hospital Center RN Residency

[GuatericanNurse]

Hey All!! Does anyone out there have any 411 about this program? I just applied to it today, but since the program begins in 2 months I didn't know if I was already too late...

Any one with any information would be very helpful!!

Thank you!

BACHELORS DEGREE PREFERRED

Basic Life Support - AHA

RN in DC (eligible/required )

Looking for an adrenaline charged environment? Looking to constantly be challenged? Looking for continuous learning and growth? Looking to really make a difference? Then the Washington Hospital Center is the place for you!

Washington Hospital Center, located in a bustling and diverse inner-city environment, is the largest hospital in DC with 936-beds, a Level I trauma center, the region's only Burn Center, a nationally recognized cardiovascular program, and more. We offer one of the best RN Residency Programs in the area for new graduate RNs and RNs looking to transition into a new specialty area. You will hit the ground running and be immersed in an extensive 8-14 week program, which includes classroom instruction tailored to specific clinical areas, a focused case study approach to learning, clinical preceptorship, and new hire support/mentorship. All programs are run by experience clinical nurse educators who oversee both classroom and clinical orientation components. Since 1987, our RN Residency Programs have been the foundation for new graduate and RN training.

The RN Residency Program offers opportunities to work in one of the following units: Cardiac Thoracic, Cardiac Surgery Stepdown, Medical Cardiology, Burn/Trauma Stepdown, Pulmonary, General Medical, Medical/Behavioral Health, Endocrine, Surgery/Transplant, Geriatrics, Oncology. (Availability is contingent upon open positions)

The July 2010 RN Residency Program begins July 19, 2010.

Requirements: Current CPR certification. New grad RNs MUST have taken their NCLEX and passed before the start of the program on July 19, 2010. It is recommended to sit for a DC RN license when registering to take your boards.

If selected for an interview new grads must bring a current CPR card, two letters of recommendation from clinical instructors on official letterhead and official transcripts

[punjabiRN]

Hi guys!! I got an offer to start on med surg/pulmonary unit!!! Is any body starting on this unit? please email me!!

[Luckylefty87]

Hi Everyone!

I am also starting in the RN residency program at WHC July 2010. I wanted to know how is everyone preparing for the math exam on the first day? What materials are you all studying? I'm going over IV drip calculations, PO med administrations, and IV push, etc. Best of luck to all of you! and hope to be working with you all soon :)

[ccu_nurse]

hello

first off congrats to everyone on your new and exciting career in nursing ! i was wondering if anyone could send me a pm with the recruiters email or post. i have applied and would like to follow-up with a recruiter but looked online and could not find a email address for anyone. if anyone could help i would appreciate it greatly thanks!

[CharmedJ7]

Hi all,

I'm also going to be starting at WHC, and I'm wondering if anyone else is relocating for this job? Or, if not, could anyone give some advice about finding an apartment? How much do you think it's reasonable to pay for rent on the given salary? I really have no idea what cost of living in DC is like, so any help would be appreciated!

See you all soon!

[Luckylefty87]

Hi all,

I'm also going to be starting at WHC, and I'm wondering if anyone else is relocating for this job? Or, if not, could anyone give some advice about finding an apartment? How much do you think it's reasonable to pay for rent on the given salary? I really have no idea what cost of living in DC is like, so any help would be appreciated!

See you all soon!

Hi Charmed.

Are you planning on living in the D.C. area? I live in Maryland and I know that the cost of living in D.C. is higher then it is in Maryland. Have you done any apartment searches? I rent a place with my Husband and we pay about 1,300 a month but we split the costs. It all really depends what you are looking for. Good luck!

[hipaacrates]

It seems the recent hiring trend favors second-degree BSN and direct-entry MSN students. Many new grads are Georgetown Scholars (second-degree ABSNs) or completed traditional/accelerated BSN programs. WHC's goal is to eventually obtain Magnet status as well as hire new grads with the credentials to orient to leadership and management roles.

[natchan23]

I was wondering what the July WHC RN residency folks think about the program, hospital, area, etc. Do you like working there? Is the staff generally happy? Is the patient load reasonable? Was it hard to find housing? I was just offered a position for the October residency and have a few days to decide if I want to spend the next 2 years of my life on the east coast (I'm from the west coast)! Any thoughts appreciated :)

[CharmedJ7]

2 years? Are you coming in on some sort of contract? We didn't have any contract...

Anyhow, I can offer some opinions. Overall I'm pretty happy here. I relocated from Manhattan for this job, and I definitely feel it was a good decision, not least because there are approximately zero jobs in NY so having anything at all feels good. As far as the actual program at WHC, it's hit or miss, some of the classes are a nice review, some of them seem pointless, but in any case being paid to go to class is a nice change. The first few weeks are a bit odd on the floor because you're only there like once/week, but once you get into it full-time it's better. I'm on a surgical floor and days I'm generally 1:4 or 1:5, nights 1:5 or 6. It's busy, but I wouldn't expect to be doing much better anywhere else. The issues I have I don't really think are hospital-specific, they're more just the realities of working as a nurse (ie, pressure to be 'customer-service' but also get out on time, too much paperwork, personality conflicts, etc). I do get the vibe a lot of nurses who've been there awhile don't love it or are a bit unhappy, the nurses union here is in the midst of contract negotiations and there's talk of striking.

DC itself is pretty nice. The salary you get here, while competitive for the area, is a bit low to actually live in DC - I'm really the only person I know who lives in DC proper and I got a good deal and still feel like I'm paying too much in rent. Rent is stupid expensive in DC, and in the outlying areas too to be honest. People here are generally friendly though and there's a fair amount to do.

Let me know if you have other questions

[opensails]

DC itself is pretty nice. The salary you get here, while competitive for the area, is a bit low to actually live in DC - I'm really the only person I know who lives in DC proper and I got a good deal and still feel like I'm paying too much in rent. Rent is stupid expensive in DC, and in the outlying areas too to be honest. People here are generally friendly though and there's a fair amount to do.

Let me know if you have other questions

How are utilities in the District? Also, how is your commute? Do you drive to WHC or use the metro? In terms of being inside DC, I've been looking for places in Dupont Circle and the Waterfront south of the National Mall. Otherwise I'm looking in Alexandria, Arlington, Silver Springs, and College Park. I'm just concerned that if I live in Alexandria or Arlington, my commute will be unbearable since you kind of have to go through DC to get to the hospital. I'm sure it'll still be a rough commute from Silver Spring or College Park but might be better than being in Virginia.

[CharmedJ7]

Utlities? I don't really know how much they cost, they're included in my rent. As far as commute, I actually ride my bike since I live 2 miles away from the hospital - in my opinion, that is by far the best method of getting to the hospital, traffic in DC is pretty terrible and the hospital isn't really on a metro line. That said, WHC does offer parking for 25$/month and it's certainly common to drive longish distances. There is a hospital shuttle that runs from Columbia Heights metro and Brookland which is nice on day shifts but doesn't run at night shift times or on weekends, and there's commercial busses (H2, H4) that run that same route but they can be really unreliable.

Alexandria and Arlington are nice places to live, but I imagine it would be a pretty long commute, probably at least an hour by transit and who knows how long to drive. Silver Spring seems to be an ok commute from talking to people who live there, and it's got a reasonable downtown area and a fair amount of housing options. I don't know too much about college park other than there's an IKEA there... Dupont is fun but really expensive and less car-friendly than other areas, and I've never looked into the waterfront south of the national mall but I imagine that might be pricey too. Quality of life-wise, I recommend VA over MD, and DC over either VA or MD if you can afford it and find a good deal.

[opensails]

Thanks for the advice and quick reply, CharmedJ7! I didn't know about the parking being only $25/month. That's actually really good for being in a city but I guess it comes at the price of traffic.

Sorry to ask you another question, but did you find your apartment on craigslist or another site? I've been sticking mostly with craigslist but wouldn't mind using another source.

Appreciate your help! Thanks alot!